Evidently, this is the first time someone has filmed the way that Palhares gets so ripped. He lifted for three of a total of 13 workouts during the week when this was filmed, he started off with a 300kg leg press, which he followed up with a respectable 135 pounds on the bench. He then maxed out at over 300 pounds on the bench and did the clean and jerk with what appeared to be 275 pounds or so.

Seems a little high to me ulenss you are an endurance athlete. I know GSP goes low-carb when he is getting close to a fight and I think Sean Sherk tested positive for steroids at least once, so I am not sure if they are good examples of the point you are trying to make. I found that once my body adjusted to burning fat and protein for energy, I ended up with better body comp and strength to weight ratio. I have tryed both approaches and that was my result.

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Playing any full contact sport is like pliayng Russian roulette with your health, but I think MMA is pound-for-pound one of the less dangerous sports out there. The training and competition might be hard on the body, and guys like Noguiera look like hamburger after a while, but I don’t think they have a lot of serious health issues.A lot of this can be attributed to a handful of facts:1) MMA fighters wear smaller gloves than those worn in boxing. Because of the smaller surface area and weight, there is less shock dispersal onto a target area. This means that when a fighter gets punched in the face, he might get a broken nose, or a cut forehead, or even knocked out. Therefore, a hard punch is more likely to stop a fight than in boxing. In boxing, the heavier, bigger gloves disperse more shock, so boxers can pound on one another for an hour without being knocked out. This means that their brains are bouncing around in their heads every time they take a punch above their shoulders. This is why boxing has waaaaaaay more fatalities than MMA.So, while he won’t be winning any beauty contests, it is unlikely that Nog will be walking around in their 60′s shaking like a leaf from Parkinson’s.Second: there is no dishonor in quitting. While fighting, if the damage you are taking is too much, you can always tap out. There is no stigma against giving up. Because of this, fighters are able to remove themselves from a dangerous situation without having to worsen the damage already inflicted upon their body. If a boxer gives up in the middle of his match, he is booed and called a chump. If a football player feels that he has taken too much damage and requests to be put on the bench, he’ll be booed by the fans and ridiculed by his coaches and teammates for “being too soft.” Because a stigma exists in these sports towards calling it quits, there are more injuries because people push themselves too hard.This is just speculation though. MMA hasn’t been in the mainstream long enough for us to observe the effects the sport as had on them. Time will tell, but I think that MMA is one of the healthier sports that an athlete can do.